Met Museum President Emily Rafferty to retire

The first female president of the city's most-attended museum will step down in 2015.

Photo: Buck Ennis
Emily Rafferty, president of the Metropolitan Museum of Art since 2005, will retire next year.

Emily Rafferty, who has been the president of the Metropolitan Museum of Art for more than a decade, announced Thursday that she will be retiring in the spring of 2015.

"With the ebb and flow of projects, this feels like the right time. Nobody takes a decision like this without serious thought," Ms. Rafferty, 65, said.

Her retirement comes as the museum prepares to embark on a series of new initiatives and a related long-term capital campaign. She also cited a number of projects she shepherded that are well underway or nearing completion, such as the Costume Institute, which opened in May, and the plaza renovation project, which is scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2014.

Ms. Rafferty joined the museum in 1976 as an administrator in the development department. From there, she rose the ranks to become the first woman to be appointed vice president in the museum's history, as vice president of development and membership. She held the title of senior vice president for external affairs before assuming the role of president.

Between now and next spring, she will focus on assisting in the transition as the museum searches for her successor. As for what's next, she said she hasn't made any commitments but expects to remain in the public sector.

"The institution itself is ready for this change. [Director and CEO] Tom Campbell and I have worked as very close partners, and he has become affirmed of what he wants to see in this institution," Ms. Rafferty said.

That includes developing uses for new technologies and communicating with a wider audience through the development of new marketing initiatives and international projects.

"The Met is known for the extraordinary dedication of its staff, but few people have had a greater impact on this Museum than she has," Mr. Campbell said in a statement. "Indeed, I am deeply indebted to her for the role she played in my own transition to director."

Daniel J. Brodsky, chairman of the Met, said in a statement that he will work closely with Mr. Campbell to name and chair a committee of the Board of Trustees that will recommend a succession plan as the search for the next president commences.

Ms. Rafferty, born and raised in New York City, is a well-known figure in New York's philanthropic circles. She is chairperson of the board of directors of the city's tourism bureau, NYC & Company, and was honored as one of Crain's 50 Most-Powerful Women in New York in 2013.